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    • A POST-CHRISTMAS SALE AT CORK AUCTION ROOMS

    December 27th, 2015

    The first of the post Christmas sales takes place at Cork Auction Rooms on December 29 at noon.  There is a choice of antique furniture including a Victorian breakfast table and a bamboo hall stand.  Estimates are modest.  The catalogue is online.  Here is a selection:

    A c1900 French over mantle mirror with electric lights (400-600).

    A c1900 French over mantle mirror with electric lights (400-600). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A 19th century Irish glass bowl (300-400).

    A 19th century Irish glass bowl (300-400).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 160

    Six Irish silver forks, hallmarked Dublin 1789 (250-300).

    Six Irish silver forks, hallmarked Dublin 1789 (250-300). UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 280

    Georgian low boy (160-200).

    Georgian low boy (160-200). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Victorian bamboo hallstand (60-80).

    Victorian bamboo hallstand (60-80).

    This 19th century snap top breakfast table is at Cork Auction Rooms (400-600).

    This 19th century snap top breakfast table is at Cork Auction Rooms (400-600). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

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    A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR READERS

    December 24th, 2015

    fons nativityThis watercolour of the nativity by Richard King (1907-1974) sold for a hammer price of 2,100 at Fonsie Mealy’s auction in Dublin this month. It was one of a number of works and stained glass designs for St. Columba’s Church in South Perth, Australia by the artist, who worked at the Harry Clarke studio before setting up on his own in 1940. They all sold for various prices from 2,100 to 4,800.

    We wish all readers of antiquesandartireland.com a very happy Christmas and the best for 2016.

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    WHERE THERE IS MUCK THERE IS TUDOR GOLD

    December 24th, 2015
    The hoard includes five aglets and two beads.

    The hoard includes five aglets and two beads.

    Where there is much there is brass according to the old saying but in the case of one small section of Thames riverbank that brass is gold. There is not a whole lot of Tudor gold – less than an egg cup full – but it is exquisitely worked. It has been turned up by metal detectorists on the banks of the River Thames for a number of years. No less than eight metal detectorists have harvested the tiny fragments of gold. They are so similar in style that archaeologist Kate Sumnall believes that they came from one garment, possibly a hat blown off by the wind.  They were all found in one area.   The objects include aglets, used for the tips of laces, as well as beads and studs.  The finds are legally classed as treasure and must be declared to officers like Kate Sumnall, who works at the Museum of London.  They all date from the early 16th century.

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    GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST IN ANTIQUE PHOTOGRAPHS

    December 24th, 2015

    There is more than a hint of the ghost of Christmas past in lot one at Dolan’s upcoming art and antiques auction at Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork on January 17.  The catalogue is in the course of preparation, but lot one is a collection of 19th century photographs of locations around Cork city and county. As you can see, they are redolent of an era that is long gone. Here is a nostalgic sample:

    Patrick St., Cork.

    Patrick St., Cork.

    Kissing the Blarney Stone.

    Kissing the Blarney Stone.

    Queenstown - now Cobh - departure point for so many Irish emigrants to the New World.

    Queenstown – now Cobh – departure point for so many Irish emigrants to the New World.

    The bridge at Inchigeelagh.

    The bridge at Inchigeelagh.

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    EXCEPTIONAL MATISSE INTERIOR AT SOTHEBY’S

    December 23rd, 2015

    An exceptional painting by Henri Matisse, which has emerged after 85 years in a private collection, is among the highlights at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern and Surreal Art evening sales in London on February 3.  Highlights from these sales will preview in Hong Kong from January 5-8.  Matisse’s La Lecon de piano combines two of the artist’s passions, music and art. Painted in 1923 this fine interior composition is from his early Nice period when he produced some of his boldest and most life affirming works.  It is estimated at £12-18 million.

    There is a rare example of one of Francis Picabia’s machinist compositions from his DADA period. Le Ventilateur was painted in 1917 and is estimated at £1.8-2.5 million.

    The year 2015 was a record one for Sotheby’s sales of Impressionist & Modern Art worldwide. Sales achieved a grand total of US$1.72 billion – the highest annual figure for the company in this category.

    Henri Matisse - La lecon de piano.

    Henri Matisse – La lecon de piano.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £10.8 MILLION

    Francis Picabia - Le Ventilateur

    Francis Picabia – Le Ventilateur  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £2.3 MILLION

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    ART DECO CLUB CHAIRS AND FENNECS TABLE LAMP

    December 23rd, 2015

    A pair of Art Deco club chairs made in 1939 by Jean-Michel Frank (1895-1941) sold for $185,000 at Christie’s Design Sale in New York. In oak with original leather upholstery they had been estimated at $150,000-200,000 and were the top lot in the sale.  The lot was sold with a certificate of authenticity from the Jean-Michel Frank committee.  The top lot at Chrsite’s New York sale of an important collection of Art Deco masterpieces was a Fennecs table lamp c1919-1920 by Armand Albert Rateau (1882-1938). The alabaster and patinated bronze piece sold for $401,000 over a top estimate of $350,000. Christie’s say the simple design, faultless in its proportions, well illustrates Rateau’s distinctive skill at conceiving elegant, modern artefacts that distill echoes of ancient cultures. Rateau has created a form in alabaster that serves as a subtle, warming filter for the internal light source – a most effective solution to the issue of mastering electric light.

    JEAN-MICHEL FRANK, A PAIR OF CLUB CHAIRS, 1939

    JEAN-MICHEL FRANK, A PAIR OF CLUB CHAIRS, 1939

    ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938) AN IMPORTANT 'FENNECS' TABLE LAMP, CIRCA 1919-1920

    ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)
    AN IMPORTANT ‘FENNECS’ TABLE LAMP, CIRCA 1919-1920

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    IMMA BRINGS CONTEMPORARY ART TO DUBLIN’S STREETS

    December 22nd, 2015

    An exhibition by Cuban born American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996) at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) has taken to the streets of Dublin.  The artist wanted “Untitled” (The New Plan), 1991 installed in a variety of locations in diverse neighbourhoods. So from now until December 30 it is on view  on six billboards across six sites within Dublin city centre normally used for prime advertising space. The art is on billboards at Usher’s Island, Dublin 8; Townsend St., Dublin 2; Pearse St., Dublin 2; East Wall Road (Dublin 3); Talbot St., Dublin 1 and Parnell St., Dublin 1.

    Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ artworks are known for their quiet, simple forms and minimal aesthetic. The artwork “Untitled” (The New Plan), 1991, is made by reproducing a specific colour image of denim fabric, a photograph by Gonzalez-Torres, exclusively as billboards. The work is intentionally open to interpretation and driven by viewer interaction.  It is part of the exhibition What We Call Love: From Surrealism to Now at IMMA until February 7, 2016. The show features modern and contemporary masterworks from the world’s leading collections by Brancusi, Dalí, Duchamp Ernst, Giacometti, Oppenheim, Picasso, Warhol, Yoko Ono, and more.

    Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (The New Plan), 1991, Billboard, Dimensions vary with installation’

    Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (The New Plan), 1991, Billboard, Dimensions vary with installation’

    Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (The New Plan), 1991, Billboard, Dimensions vary with installation’

    Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (The New Plan), 1991, Billboard, Dimensions vary with installation’

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    STARS OF INTERIOR DESIGN FOR NEW YORK WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW

    December 21st, 2015

    Some of the brightest stars of the world of interior design have been drafted in to this years Winter Antiques Show in New York.  Celebrating its 62nd year as America’s most prestigious art, antiques and design fair in 2016 it will run from January 22-31.  This year the organisers have enlisted interior design luminaries as honorary design chairs. Nate Berkus, Ellie Cullman, Alexa Hampton, and Markham Roberts were chosen because of their prominence in the industry and expertise in decorating with antiques.  The fully vetted fair will feature over 70 renowned experts in fine and decorative arts from around the world. The show is at the Park Avenue Armory, 67th Street and Park Avenue, New York City.  Here is a sneak peek at some of the pieces which will be on view.

    Hyde Park Antiques will display this pair of Irish c1830 leather and elm armchairs

    Hyde Park Antiques will display this pair of Irish c1830 leather and elm armchairs

    A Pair of Irish William IV Elm Open Armchairs (detail of armrest) at Hyde Park Antiques

    A Pair of Irish William IV Elm Open Armchairs (detail of armrest) at Hyde Park Antiques

    Ronald Phillips will bring a pair of English mirrors c1735. They were originally intended for the hunting lodge of the Earl of Harrington in Richmond. Each mirror tells the story from Ovid's Metamorphosis

    Ronald Phillips will bring a pair of English mirrors c1735. They were originally intended for the hunting lodge of the Earl of Harrington in Richmond. Each mirror tells the story from Ovid’s Metamorphosis

    GLASS PAST will exhibit this Venini Pezzato Vase, Fulvio Bianconi c1950

    GLASS PAST will exhibit this Venini Pezzato Vase, Fulvio Bianconi c1950

    Cohen and Cohen will bring this Chinese Famille Rose tureen cover and stand.

    Cohen and Cohen will bring this Chinese Famille Rose tureen cover and stand.

     

     

     

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    SEAN MCSWEENEY (80) AT TAYLOR GALLERIES WINTER SHOW

    December 18th, 2015
    Sean McSweeney

    Sean McSweeney

    Sean McSweeney, the featured artist at the Taylor Galleries annual Winter Group Show in Dublin, celebrates his 80th birthday this month.  The exhibition showcases work by McSweeney and invited artists.  Born in Dublin in 1935 and self-taught as a painter his work has long been rooted in the tradition of Irish landscape painting that stretches back to the 1800’s and beyond. Consistently drawn to the characteristic “horizontality” of the bogland, sea fields and flat expanses of shoreline that surround his home on the Sligo coast, he returns repeatedly to the same subjects, painting them in various lights and through changing seasons.  His work featured in the first Irish Exhibition of Living Art in 1962. Cecil King saw his work and recommended him to Leo Smith at the Dawson Gallery. He had his first solo show with the Dawson Gallery in 1965 and has been represented by Taylor Galleries since its establishment in 1978. Sean McSweeney has exhibited extensively in Ireland and abroad and is an honorary member of the Royal Hibernian Academy and a member of Aosdána. His work is represented in major public and corporate collections nationwide as well as private collections in Ireland, the UK, Europe and North America.   The exhibition at Taylor runs until January 30, 2016.

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    IRISH PROCLAMATION MAKES £305,000 AT SOTHEBY’S

    December 16th, 2015

    proclamationA copy of the Proclamation of Independence of the Irish Republic sold for £305,000 at Sotheby’s sale of English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustrations in London. It had been estimated at £80,000-120,000.  It is one of a small number of surviving copies printed at Liberty Hall, Dublin on Easter Sunday, 1916.  This marked the beginning of the Easter Rising and inaugurated modern Ireland.  About 1,000 were printed and most of these were destroyed in the storming of Liberty Hall.  It is thought that less than 50 survive.

    The text of this document was read from the steps of the General Post Office, Sackville (now O’Connell) Street, Dublin, on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, by Pádraig Pearse, who, with Thomas J. Clarke, Seán Mac Diarmada, Thomas MacDonagh, Eamonn Ceannt, James Connolly and Joseph Plunkett were the signatories of the Proclamation.

     

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